This is a QoD that has been posed several times over the years, and each time we address it, the answer gets a little fuller. Here's the latest.
While sadly there isn't a single place you can go to see listings of every machine in Las Vegas, there are several ways to get at least a partial picture of what's where and, considering the size of many of the casinos in question and the frequency with which games are moved around and switched out, that's pretty amazing in itself, although our understanding is that some of the available sources are more accurate than others, as you'll see below -- we welcome any feedback from readers who've used any of them lately, which we'll share as "Updates."
The company that blazed the trail in this department was what was formerly known as Harrah's, now Caesars Entertainment, when it introduced its slot finder back in July, 2006. It's a searchable national database of all CET's properties –- which, in Las Vegas, include the Rio, Bally's, Paris, Harrah's, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, and The Quad -- and enables you to search by property, denomination, game type, and/or name.
The next year, the company followed the slot finder with the introduction of a table-game finder, which is also searchable by several criteria, including by casino, game name, and game type. We were curious as to what the difference between the latter two categories was, so we looked up table-game names beginning with 'b.' Wow! The choices the last time we checked came back as follows: Baccarat, Big Raise Hold 'Em, Big Six, Bingo, BJ Double Hit 17, BJ Double Stand 17, BJ Press, BJ Shoe (6 to 5), BJ Shoe Hit 17, BJ Shoe Stand 17, BJ Single (3 to 2 - good luck finding any of those in Vegas), BJ Single (6 to 5), Blackjack Bonanza, Blackjack Switch, and Boston 5 Card. We don't know how it's maintained, but it looks like a pretty slick and comprehensive database.
As part of its B Connected online players club program, Boyd Gaming also added a slot-machine search feature that covers all Boyd properties nationally, including the Gold Coast, Orleans, Suncoast, Main Street Station, Sam's Town, California, and Fremont in Las Vegas. Like the CET equivalent, it's searchable by property, game type, and denomination, but it also includes handy color-coded maps that highlight exactly where your game of choice can be located on the casino floor. As with Harrah's, we can't vouch for how up-to-date all the information is kept, but it's a great idea if it's maintained -- let us know if you've tried to use it lately!
Since we last researched this area, Bellagio has entered the fray, surprisingly enough, and has its own slot finder, with zones that relate to a map of the casino floor, which is pretty cool, although again we haven't checked it out to see how accurate it is.
In addition, IGT has a searchable database for locating the whereabouts of its MegaJackpots games, which include many of the big progressives like Megabucks, Wheel of Fortune, and so on, including their current totals.
Bally Technologies, another ginormous game-maker, also has a where to play page for finding your favorite games, like Playboy Slots. It's the least sophisticated of the search databases, just listing casinos by state that have the game, not denominations or locations within the property. Still, it's better than nothing.
WMS, yet another maker of popular slots, is a new addition to this list since last we researched, with a slot locator that's searchable by zip code.
As to video poker, again, we list where to find all the best games, by casino in our Best Video Poker section. The data's supplied and updated by vpFREE2, where you can also find details of exactly where the games are located on the casino floor, and whether they're bartop or stand-alone. This one we do have experience of, and have had other readers write in to vouch for its accuracy, also. It's updated by players in the field, as opposed to casinos or game-makers, which no doubt helps.
